Blackfoot Awards First Ever Badge of Innovation at the Montana Science Fair

Blackfoot awarded our first ever Blackfoot Badge of Innovation to one high school and one middle school team at the Montana Science Fair Awards Ceremony held at the University of Montana – Dennison Theatre on Tuesday, March 20.

The Blackfoot Badge of Innovation honors outstanding innovation by students who bring brilliant ideas to life; big or small, ideas can inspire powerful change and connect us to more. Winners receive $250 and a Blackfoot Badge of Innovation.

The high school division Badge of Innovation was awarded to Mackenzie Wiegand and Madison Wiegand from Simms High School for their project, Silver Nanoparticle Water Filtration Incorporating Ultraviolet Sterilization. The middle school division Blackfoot Badge of Innovation was awarded to Michael Leach and Dayne Sullivan from Simms Middle School for their project, Green Machine. Our judges were truly inspired by these young thinkers.

A committee comprised of five Blackfoot judges thoroughly reviewed all of the science projects and selected one innovative idea from both grade divisions to receive the award. The committee included: Dave Martin, Chief Technology Officer; Jessica Bracey, IS Manager; Rachael Wierson, Network Engineering Manager; Stacy Harris, Software Engineer; and Kina Kuhn, IS Project Manager.

Blackfoot was the premiere sponsor of the 63rd Annual Montana Science Fair held at the Adams Center on Monday, March 19. Hundreds of students from across the state presented their science projects to over 250 volunteer judges. Blackfoot is proud to partner with the University of Montana and encourage innovative thinking.

Watch the awards ceremony on Blackfoot’s Facebook page at: www.Facebook.com/GoBlackfoot.

To learn more about the Montana Science Fair, visit: http://hs.umt.edu/mtsciencefair/.